Kole was very close to His Royal Highness Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III (ex- St. Gregory’s College) the Alafin of Oyo and Sir (Dr.) Kofo Abayomi’s very senior chieftaincy title: Olu ‘sokun was his for the asking/taking. It was very magnanimous of him to let the honour go to a younger man, Chief Fubara Anga (ex-King’s College/Cambridge University). What is beyond question is that Kole was very deep. Of course, he was a scholar in Law and jurisprudence. He combined it with deep knowledge of Yoruba history, customs, traditions and rituals — right down to free flowing Ifá incantations. For a man who attended three universities in England, his fluency in Yoruba language, proverbs, metaphors and cadences was unrivalled.
Over the years he remained the same Kole who was in McKee-Wrights House at King’s College while I was in the most coveted Harman’s House. Up Harman’s!!
Our connection was further reinforced by our common enterprise. While he was training lawyers to be learned/knowledgeable and of sound character in accordance with the ethics of the profession they had freely chosen, I was engaged in the same endeavour with regard to Chartered Accountants–as President Of The Institute Of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and Chairman Of KPMG Africa as well as Chairman and Chief Executive of J. K. Randle Professional Services. We both arrived at the same conclusion, namely there is nothing more fulfilling, more gratifying or more soul stirring than watching your former students/trainees excel in your profession and other areas of human endeavour; and even surpass one’s own achievements.
Imparting knowledge is the easy bit. Imparting ethics and morality which would ensure that accountants and lawyers can justly claim to be the conscience of the nation and the lightning rod for truth, honesty and integrity, is far tougher. The ultimate prize is the prospect of those who are teachers being rewarded with reverence and mutual respect by those who were once their student/proteges.
Imparting knowledge is the easy bit. Imparting ethics and morality which would ensure that accountants and lawyers can justly claim to be the conscience of the nation and the lightning rod for truth, honesty and integrity, is far tougher
Perhaps I should add that Professor Olanrewaju Fagbohun, SAN, the Vice-Chancellor of Lagos State University is not the only former student of Chief (Dr.) Kole Abayomi to head a university in Nigeria and other parts of the world.
Professor Ben Enwonwu was also deep, very deep. A peep into his soul would reveal the following:
“Professor Ben Enwonwu, MBE was a Nigerian Painter and Sculptor born in Umuese- Aroli, Onitsha, Nigeria in 1917. He attended the prestigious Slade School of Fine Art, University College, London and in 1945, the Ruskin School, Ashmolean, Oxford University where the Slade had been relocated during World War II. Arguably the most influential African artist of the 20th Century, his pioneering career opened the way for the post-colonial proliferation and increased visibility of modern African art. He was the first African artist to win critical acclaim, having exhibited in august exhibition spaces in Europe and the United States.
Since 1950, Professor Enwonwu was celebrated as “Africa’s Greatest Artist” by the international media and his fame was used to enlist support for Black Nationalists movement all over the world. The Enwonwu crater on the planet Mercury is named in his honour.
Professor Enwonwu was awarded MBE in 1955 by Queen Elizabeth II, and received the National Order of Merit by the Nigerian government for contributions to art and culture in 1980.”
What was amazing was that the erudite and charismatic Professor Enwonwu somehow got to know that my grandfather, Dr. J. K. Randle was a great and generous patron of art. He was also an avid and enthusiastic collector. He had awarded a scholarship to Mr. Aina Onabolu to enable him to study fine art in London in 1910 or thereabouts. Not only did Onabolu become an accomplished artist (in addition to being Dr. Randle’s godson), his son Ebun followed in his footsteps and was the arts master at King’s College where he encouraged me to become a professional artist!! Also, for quite a while I was an art student under Chief Omotayo Aiyegbusi, a graphic artist, designer and silkscreen artist from Ondo.
He designed book jackets for notable publishers like Cambridge University Press, Evans Brothers and individual writers. He also designed greeting cards and calendars. He was a founding member of the Society of Nigerian Artists. He had an art studio at Onikan, Lagos. My third art teacher was Chief Timothy Adebanji Fasuyi. He was born in April, 1935 at Ilesha Osun State to a family lineage famous for production and ornamentation of art and craft for the king’s palace. His grandfather, the Asolo of Isona was the head of the artists’ guild based in Isona, Ilesa. He was admitted into the Nigerian College of Arts and Science, Zaria in 1954 to study art as one of the pioneer students, he later completed a postgraduate diploma in education moderated by London University.
He was an art teacher at St. John’s Teacher’s College, Owo in Ondo State where he taught for fourteen months before his appointment as art education officer at Kings College, Lagos. He was a founding member of the Society of Nigerian Artists and he served as its first secretary with Prof. Yusuf Grillo as president. He was also the first Nigerian member of International Association of Artists (IAA) based in Paris and was later elected its vice president.
I hope I can complete the painting of “EMPTY SEATS AT THE METROPOLITAN CLUB” in time for auction at the 2020 ART X Exhibition being organized by Tokini Peterside, the indefatigable, resourceful and creative daughter of Dundun and Atedo. She has really done wonders for Nigerian/African art going by her several appearances on CNN. Of course, the proceeds of the auction of the painting will be handed over to The Corona Fund for Artists. All that creative energy that is wasting away or in storage during the pandemic must surely find release when the nightmare is over.
